(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following was submitted by the Sudbury Public Schools Committee.)

Superintendent Dr. Anne Wilson presented a draft of the Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) goals and strategies for FY13. These goals and strategies are intended to support the SPS commitment to excellence in educating students to be knowledgeable, creative, independent thinkers who are caring, collaborative members of the school and wider communities. 

Strategic objectives for the next fiscal year include:

• Ensuring that all students have access to high quality, research-based, differentiated content and instructional practices in a safe environment.  Initiatives that will support this goal are: the implementation of the new Educator Evaluation System; maintaining the Anti-Bullying initiative; developing and implementing a new middle school schedule; implementing a new mentoring program for 1st and 2nd year teachers; and adding math coaches at the elementary level.
• Aligning curriculum, assessments, and professional development to meet Common Core Standards. In order to support this goal, the district will: establish and sustain a Professional Development Council; provide curriculum leadership in Mathematics and ELA by implementing Curriculum Coordinators; provide opportunities for teachers and administrators to work together on Common Core alignment and Common Assessment development; integrate technology into instructional, operational, and administrative routines.
• Analyzing student-learning data consistently to inform instruction and improve student achievement. This will be accomplished by:  developing and implementing structures and routines to support the use of data to inform instruction; creating and implementing common assessments; integrating technology into instructional, operational, and administrative routines.
• Aligning resources to Instructional Core needs in a manner which sustains excellence and enhances the effective and efficient use of limited resources. To support this goal, the district will: develop a budget that reflects Instructional Core needs; provide for technology infrastructure in the budget; integrate technology into instructional, operational, and administrative routines; implement a new Food Service program.

As a next step, Dr. Wilson will bring the draft goals to the entire SPS staff for comment. Following this, the School Committee will receive the recommended goals for approval. 

VOTE ON NEW EDUCATOR EVALUATION STANDARDS

As previously reported, at the May 30 School Committee Meeting, Dr. Wilson and Sudbury Education Association President Dr. Robert Mealey presented the new regulations for Evaluation of Educators. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires that all school districts either adopt the DESE model plan or propose an alternate plan, which would need DESE approval. A Joint Labor Management Committee comprised of Sudbury administrators and teaching staff reviewed the DESE's model plan and made revisions, which were then approved by the Sudbury Education Association membership. 

This new system will be implemented in SPS over a two-year period beginning in FY13 and will apply to all administrators and teachers. Administrators will be expected to meet standards related to: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Management and Operations; Family and Community Partnerships; Professional Culture.  Teachers will be required to meet standards related to:  Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment; Teaching All Students; Family and Community Partnerships; Professional Culture. 

During the June 6 meeting, Dr. Wilson presented a more in-depth view of the elements related to some of the standards. For instance, one of the standards on which a teacher will be evaluated is Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment. Performance relative to this standard will be measured by evaluating a teacher's  level of subject matter expertise and knowledge of child and adolescent development and also by ascertaining his/her ability to design integrated units of instruction and skill in developing well-structured and highly engaging lessons.

More information related to the standards and elements of the Educator Evaluation model plan  can be found on the DESE website.

The School Committee voted to approve the new Educator Evaluation Standards as specified in the DESE regulations.  The Committee also approved the changes made by the Joint Labor Management Committee (which were also ratified by the Sudbury Education Association) to the DESE's model plan.  This revised plan will be submitted to the DESE for approval.